Advent Week 1 · When God Remembers You

Sometimes prayer becomes quieter. You continue to believe, yet your heart feels exhausted. You keep praying, but hope appears fragile. You trust God, but it becomes harder to see change.

Zechariah and Elizabeth experienced this as well. Luke tells us they were “righteous before God” and walked faithfully (Luke 1:6). They obeyed. They worshiped. They prayed. Yet their longing remained.

Then God answered with a tender and powerful word:

“Your prayer has been heard.”
Luke 1:13

Advent begins here.
Not with celebration.
Not with certainty.
But with God, who remembers our hearts and meets us with mercy.

In Scripture, when God remembers, it never means He forgot something. It means He is preparing to act with compassion. He remembered Noah in the flood (Genesis 8:1). He remembered Rachel in her sorrow (Genesis 30:22). He remembered His covenant with Israel when they cried out under heavy burdens (Exodus 2:24).

God’s remembering is the beginning of renewal.

Zechariah sings that Christ comes “because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the sunrise shall visit us from on high” (Luke 1:78). Advent is the season when that sunrise begins to warm the coldness of our hearts.

C. S. Lewis captured this truth beautifully when he wrote that we come nearer to Christ “not by trying to be like Him but by letting Him take us over.” His point is simple. God holds us more faithfully than we hold Him.

Maybe this week you feel like Elizabeth: waiting, wondering, and carrying something you have not yet seen fulfilled.
Maybe you feel like Zechariah: praying, but unsure if the prayer still matters.

Advent reminds us that God has not forgotten.
He is still at work in places that feel empty.
Silence is never absence.
Delay is never denial.
His mercy is moving toward you always.

Take one prayer you have let fade. Bring it to Him again. He heard you then. He hears you now.

Imagine God answering the prayer you thought He forgot.

A Prayer

Lord, help me to hope again.
Teach me to trust Your timing and Your mercy.
Help me bring my prayer back into Your light.
Thank You for remembering me.
Amen.

Reflection

Share one place where you are waiting on God with a friend, coworker, or family member.

Pray together: “Lord, visit us with Your mercy this week.”

References

Scripture (ESV): Luke 1; Genesis 8:1; Genesis 30:22; Exodus 2:24
C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (2001)